Memory of Father Aleksandr Men', Orthodox priest from Moscow, barbarically murdered in 1990. Read more
Memory of Father Aleksandr Men’, Orthodox priest from Moscow, barbarically murdered in 1990.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Luke 6, 39-42
He also told them a parable, 'Can one blind person guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit?
Disciple is not superior to teacher; but fully trained disciple will be like teacher.
Why do you observe the splinter in your brother's eye and never notice the great log in your own?
How can you say to your brother, "Brother, let me take out that splinter in your eye," when you cannot see the great log in your own? Hypocrite! Take the log out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter in your brother's eye.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The reading of Jesus’ discourse to the disciples, which began with the "beatitudes," continues. Today’s passage and the one we will hear tomorrow form a unity in which Jesus expounds a series of truths of human and spiritual wisdom which he hands on to the disciples of yesterday and today. And he uses the language of parables so that everyone can understand them in a concrete way and thus be inspired and guided in their conduct. Jesus uses the image of a blind person who is unable to guide another blind person. With this image, he calls everyone, and particularly those who are responsible as guides, to have their eyes opened to the Gospel, to be attentive to their interior lives and to look around at what is good and beautiful. Otherwise, one will remain blind and will be incapable of helping anyone. The accusation against the Pharisees that they are blind guides incapable of guiding anyone is clearly evident. But the teaching is addressed to everyone: whoever is blind, in other words, those who let themselves be guided only by their own narrow-mindedness or pride and who concentrate only on themselves fall into the behaviour branded by the Gospel. Jesus then reminds us that no disciple should think of becoming superior to the teacher. This means that each disciple, even when he or she has progressed in wisdom, should be careful not to fall into the temptation of believing that they do not need to hear the Gospel. If anything, the disciple should become Gospel-like, in order to "be like his teacher." This is exactly what the apostle says: "It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me" (Gal 2:20). If we allow ourselves to be led by our pride we will fall into the hypocrisy of being intent on the specks in others’ eyes without heeding the logs which distort our own eyes. It is the old vice of being indulgent with oneself and severe with others. The Gospel asks us to take on a new attitude, that of love, not judgment. Love opens the eyes of the heart to see, to be moved and to go to meet others with mercy. This requires real specific work on one’s interior life, an ascesis over one’s own instincts, perseverance in listening to the Word of God, and a strong bond with the community of sisters and brothers.
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
